Surname Göddert - Meaning and Origin
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Göddert: What does the surname Göddert mean?
The last name Göddert is of German origin and has an uncertain etymology. The spelling of the name can also be seen as Goeddert, Godert, Göderth, or Gönther. Records of the name date back to 13th-century Germany, and the name is most commonly found in Germany and the Netherlands.
The Göddert surname likely originated as an occupational name for someone with a profession involving metalworking. The prefix “Go” or “Gö” was derived from the German word “Götter” meaning “smith” or “weaponsmith” while “dert” comes from the word “Dert” which means “forge”. Therefore, the name could have referred to someone who is a smith or blacksmith who works with iron and other metals.
This is further backed up by some historical records of Gödderts in armor-making, metalworking, and forging. Other records of the name refer to Gödderts as merchants which could indicate their skills in working with metal and trading the products they made.
The Göddert surname is rare today and the meaning of it today is likely similar to its origin, although it may take on other connotations such as a strong work ethic, skill with metal, and a passion for trading.
Order DNA origin analysisGöddert: Where does the name Göddert come from?
The last name Göddert is very uncommon today. Though it typically originates from Germany, it is believed to have originated from a region that would have spanned modern-day Denmark, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands. Its spelling variations – Göddert, Gödderts, Gearrity, Garretty – attest to its fluxuating spelling as it moved across geographical regions and generations.
In modern times, the last name Göddert appears to exist most prevalently in Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States. To be sure, families that have emigrated from Germany to the United States have kept this name in their family lines in states such as Florida, Minnesota, Kansas, New York, and even Nebraska.
Likewise, the Netherlands has a few families with this last name spread across the country, most prominently in the areas of Utrecht, Gelderland, and Noord-Holland. A simple search on Sports Referral (a directory of athletes in the Netherlands) reveals that this last name is living on through athletes such as Judith Goldert, a basketball player from Amsterdam.
It is also present in Germany, particularly in the western part of the country. According to a source, Gödderts is a very common last name in the town of Bonn, the hometown of influential figures such as Beethoven and Max Planck.
As a whole, while the last name Göddert is not particularly common, it appears to be in use in Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States today, often through families that have emigrated from Germany over the generations.
Variations of the surname Göddert
The surname Göddert has numerous variants, spellings and surnames of the same origin. Among the most common are:
Göttert, Gedert, Gettirt, Göttert, Guder, Güder, Götzger, Guidert, Güttler, Güttlers, Gütle, Gütler, Gütling, Gütel, Gürtler, Götert, Gürtler, Göhler, Göhlerin, Gotert, Goedert, Gottert, Göddler, Güdert, Gudert, Gütter, Götter, Göttler, Götlitz, Götlinger, Gödtel, Güdtel, Geddert, Goedtel, Güdte, Gödte, Gödde and Gödtel.
These variations are believed to have originated from a single ancestral source. The surname Göddert is likely derived from the personal name “Godifrid”, which was a name commonly used in Germany and other German-speaking regions during the Middle Ages. This personal name is composed of two elements - “God”, which is an old Germanic word for God, and “frid”, an old Germanic word for peace and protection.
Over time, the original spelling of the personal name began to evolve into different variations, such as Göttert, Göttert, Gütler, etc. As people with the same original surname moved and spread out across different regions, these variants began to be adopted into different surnames. As a result, all of the various surnames that are commonly linked to the Göddert family name are linked to the same origin.
Famous people with the name Göddert
- Paul Göddertz: German World War I flying ace and recipient of the Pour le Merite medal
- Johann Albert Göddert: Lutheran theologian and professor
- Josef Göddertz: Prussian mayor of Kraków
- Karl Göddertz: 18th century German architect
- Casimir Göddertz: Prussian General
- Jakob Göddertz: German painter and draftsman
- John Heinrich Göddertz: Prussian surgeon
- Dorothea von Schöning Göddertz: Baroness of Pomerania
- Franz Göddertz: Prussian statesman and minister of ecclesiastical affairs
- Klemens Göddertz: Prussian explorer and ethnologist
- Hans Göddertz: Twentieth century German physician
- Wilhelmine Knötel Göddertz: German poet
- Friedrich August Göddertz: German geologist
- Margarete Radlōff von Göddertz: German author
- Ernst Göddertz: German geographer
- Gottlieb August Göddertz: German writer, philosopher and naturalist
- Eugen Göddertz: German botanist
- Heinrich von Göddertz: German military officer
- August Göddertz: German merchant and government official